1. Field of the Invention
This is a Continuation-In-Part of application Ser. No. 09/197,822 filed on Nov. 23, 1998.
The present invention relates to the field of rifle and camera supports for outdoor use in general, and in particular to a convertible support apparatus for rifles and cameras that can quickly be attached to a tree stand.
2. Description of Related Art
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,022,898; 5,347,740; 5,723,808; and 5,740,625, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse rifle and/or camera supports for outdoor usage.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical convertible rifle/camera support that is specifically designed for use with the current day more elaborate tree stand constructions.
As most bow and gun hunters are aware, a new class of luxury style treestand construction has recently come into the marketplace and been very favorably received by outdoor enthusiasts. While many of these newer style treestands employ a tubular safety bar that serves as a gun rest and may be either padded or unpadded, these safety bars not only do not provide lateral stability for a firearm, but they also do not have any provision for mounting a camera thereon.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need among treestand users in particular, for a new and improved type of convertible camera/rifle support apparatus for treestands equipped with a tubular safety bar, and the provision of such a construction is a stated objective of the present invention.